A Capitalist World in Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville

697 Words2 Pages

The Good Samaritan

In Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener” we are introduced to a capitalist world, a capitalist world in which an economic system controlled by private owners with the goal of making profit in the market economy exist. The story is narrated by a man mostly known as “The Lawyer”, the “elderly man” who seeks God’s acceptance by his so called “kindness” shown to his employees (Melville1483). He only sees them as property clearly shown by the following words he uses “myself, my employees, my business, my chambers and general surroundings” (Melville 1484). He tries so hard to be good but one can see through his cloak and find the real person he is, one who seeks good for oneself only. He is a fake in search of what he wants and doing it at no cost. Is his story really about helping Bartleby because he is a good person?

Bartleby who is part of the name of the story is not even considered the “chief character” of the story, but the lawyer (Melville 1484). The narrator repeatedly references different sources such as Cicero, “his biblical evocations” as well as Trinity Church, “his pride of association with John Jacob Astor” (Dilworth 49). He uses them as ways to explain what he did which may interpret “the guilt the lawyer feels”, if that is what he really feels (Dilworth 50). He may or may not feel guilt, but his actions clearly show his selfishness. The lawyer helps Bartleby because he feels pity, he helps him to feel better and to fulfill his self-interest to go to heaven. He was “predestinated from eternity” and Bartleby was his test (Melville 1502). That must clearly be the reason why the “chief character” of the story tries to help Bartleby. He is a business man seeking profit, he may know he ...

... middle of paper ...

... have helped Bartleby but he did it because he felt pity not because he wanted to help him. There was always a reason why he did what he did, the reason being heaven. The lawyer may have been the good person he believes he is, but his true motives show otherwise.

Works Cited

Dilworth, Thomas. "Narrator Of 'Bartleby': The Christian-Humanist Acquaintance Of John Jacob Astor." Papers On Language & Literature 38.1 (2002): 49-75. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2014.

Doloff, Steven. "The Prudent Samaritan: Melville's 'Bartleby, The Scrivener' As Parody Of Christ's Parable To The Lawyer." Studies In Short Fiction 34.3 (1997): 357-61. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2014.

Melville, Herman. “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th ed. Nina Baym and Robert S. Levine. Vol. B. New York: Norton, 2012. 1483-1509. Print.

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